A poetry and prose reading in conversation with themes of the American West, featuring Tammy Melody Gomez, Lorena De Luna, and Uzma Ali.

Part of Deep Vellum’s Deep Ellum Block Party activations with Deep Ellum Art Row.

TAMMY MELODY GOMEZ is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and cultural curator whose literary work—essays, poetry, microfiction—has been published in numerous anthologies, including Bikequity: Money, Class, and Bicycling (Microcosm Publishing), Entre Guadalupe y Malinche: Tejanas in Literature and Art (UT Press), and Together in a Sudden Strangeness: America’s Poets Respond to the Pandemic (Knopf). Her film poem, “Trash: Chauvin”, was screened at both CineFestival (San Antonio) and the OC Film Fiesta (Santa Ana, California) in 2021. Profiled in Las Tejanas: 300 Years of History (UT Press), Tammy is a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop.  For over 40 years, she has been dedicated to uplifting (publishing, producing, hosting) the voices of women & girls with initiatives and creative projects such as: YONIVERSE, WOW (Women of Words), the Women’s Collective for KO.OP Radio (Austin), DRESS CODES, Mujeres Sin Miedo, and Self-Defense, YO! Without Violence. Tammy has mentored dozens of emerging writers, artists, and activists, and is working hard to be a great ancestor.  IG - @tejanatongue

Lorena De Luna is a debut author from the Rio Grande Valley. Her hometown of Brownsville, Texas was the inspiration for her poetry collection Born on the Border. Lorena has been featured in Brownsville Herald, Valley Morning Star, and the Monitor. She has worked with the City of Dallas, the Wild Detectives, and the Hay Festival for events in DFW. As a social media influencer, Lorena has garnered support for her work online with over 2.5 million views on TikTok.

Uzma Ali is a Dallas-based writer and critic with an interest in the stranger corners of literary fiction. As a bookseller, she coordinates literary events in and around DFW. Previously, she created book-related content with an audience of over 150k across social media platforms.